Could JonBenét Ramsey murder finally be SOLVED? Colorado cold case investigators have made secret new recommendations to cops they hope could crack child pageant queen’s 1996 slaying
New hope has arisen that the infamous cold case of murdered child queen JonBenét Ramsey can be solved after Colorado police said they were reviewing new “recommendations” in the 1996 case.
Six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey was reported missing after her family found a ransom note in their Boulder home on December 26, 1996.
Her body was later found by her father John Ramsey in the basement of the family's luxurious home, brutally beaten and strangled. Her death was ruled a homicide, but has remained unsolved for 27 years.
However, the Boulder Police Department (BPD) announced Thursday that it was reviewing and prioritizing recommendations from a team of outside experts gathered to review the case.
The Colorado Cold Case Review Team has spent the past year digitizing all existing evidence in the case, including more than 21,000 tips, more than 1,000 interviews, samples from more than 200 different individuals, including handwriting, DNA, fingerprints and shoe prints .
Pictured: JonBenét Ramsey, 6, was a child beauty queen and murder victim. Her killer has not yet been identified and the investigation remains open. JonBenet would have been 33 years old today
The crime scene at Ramsey's luxury home in Colorado, following the murder of their six-year-old child
John and Patsy Ramsey appeal for information that led to the arrest of JonBenét's killer on May 1, 1997
Police said in a statement that DNA remains an area of investigation as the science behind testing samples taken at the time continues to evolve.
The team included professional, investigative, analytical and forensic experts from across Colorado, including the FBI, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Boulder County District Attorney's Office and “numerous other entities with expertise in cold case murder investigations.”
The BPD explained that the panel of outside experts was convened to review the high-profile case to “generate additional investigative recommendations and determine whether updated technologies and/or forensic testing could provide new information or clues to crack the case.” unload'.
While the panel's specific recommendations will not yet be made public, the department said it is committed to implementing the recommendations from the review.
“I am grateful for the Cold Case Review Team's independent review and recommendations regarding this tragic case,” said Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold.
Adding: “We will continue to follow all leads and investigate technological advances to identify JonBenet's killer.
“I also commit to providing the community and family with investigative updates as new evidence emerges.”
The grim murder case gripped Colorado and the rest of the country due to the shocking nature of the crime and JonBenét's fame in her local community, where she was known as the winner of Little Miss Colorado.
The celebrity pageant queen was later found by her father John Ramsey in the basement of the family's luxury home (pictured), beaten and strangled.
New DNA tests that could unlock the mystery of the brutal 1996 murder of Colorado child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey have finally been completed
An undated photo of John and Patricia 'Patsy' Ramsey with their children JonBenet (left) and Burke (right)
Burke Ramsey, now 36, was just nine years old when his sister was brutally murdered
John Mark Karr was extradited from Thailand and arrested for the murder of JonBenét Ramsey after he confessed, but police were unable to link him to the scene and his confession was largely discredited.
The coroner determined that the pageant girl's cause of death was “asphyxia due to strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma,” meaning she had been strangled and beaten. Her death was ruled a homicide, but no one was ever charged with the murder
The child was found under a white blanket with a nylon cord around her neck, her wrists tied above her head and her mouth covered with duct tape.
There was no clear evidence of rape, but police did not rule out sexual abuse.
A bizarre ransom note was also discovered demanding $118,000 from her family.
The coroner determined that JonBenet died of “asphyxia due to strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma,” meaning she had been strangled and beaten.
The Boulder City Medical Examiner revealed after an autopsy was performed that the little girl had an 8 1/2-inch skull fracture and was struck in the head.
No one has ever been charged with the murder before, but there have been several suspects over the years.
Among them was John Mark Karr, 58, who claimed he was with JonBenét when she died 17 years ago.
Karr was extradited from his home in Thailand following his 'confession', in which he claimed that JonBenét had died 'accidentally'.
JonBenet's brother sued CBS for $750 million over a documentary that aired pointing the finger at him for his sister's death
John Ramsey, 80, said it took years for his family to celebrate Christmas again after his daughter was found strangled and beaten to death in the basement of the family's home in Boulder, Colorado, the day after Christmas, Dec. 26, 1996.
John Ramsey in a recent interview with Fox. He said the family is now ready to celebrate Christmas again
In 2006, Karr claimed he drugged JonBenét and then had sex with her, but her autopsy revealed no drugs or alcohol in her system on blood tests.
During his interrogation, he knew details about the murder that had not been made public.
But authorities were unable to link him to the scene of the crime and he was released. Karr later suggested that he had lied about his confession to cover for someone else.
And despite his claim that he sexually assaulted Ramsey, no semen was found on her body. However, the little girl did have minor vaginal abrasions.
Karr's confession was ultimately deemed an elaborate lie by investigators.
For years, JonBenet's parents and brother, Burke, who was just nine years old at the time of his sister's death, were also under a cloud of suspicion.
However, in 2008 they were finally acquitted and formally removed from the suspect list.
In 2019, Burke sued CBS for $750 million over a documentary it aired that pointed the finger at him for his sister's death.